


Ink

by splenda4ten



Series: Yearbook #2 inspired one shots [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M, donghyuk - Freeform, nct - Freeform, nct 127, taeyong - Freeform, tattoo artist taeyong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-17 23:24:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17569910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/splenda4ten/pseuds/splenda4ten
Summary: the intimidating man who gives you your first tattoo is not as intimidating as you think





	Ink

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by yearbook #2. 
> 
> genre; nothing too specific, a little fluff at most.
> 
> warnings; slight mention of pain, tattoos
> 
> a/n; i wanted to make taeyong an edgy model but that was too basic. so i made him a tattoo artist. also, i don’t know how tattoos or tattoo shops work, so forgive me for anything unrealistic. this is my first ever piece of writing posted so i’m kinda nervous and it won’t be amazing. i’m not sure how long one shots are supposed to be, so, sorry if i disappoint. enjoy.

   

[Yearbook #2 video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b2EP0NZtrU)

 

* * *

This was your first experience with body modification. Of course, you had earrings, but you got those when you were an actual baby and you can’t remember a single thing about that. So, needless to say, you were just a little bit nervous.

Now, the reason you were here, at this somewhat sketchy and pretty small tattoo shop, waiting for your turn.

You were getting your first tattoo and not exactly because you wanted to, but for the reason of you wanting to rebel against your parents for once. They were so controlling sometimes so you thought a tattoo would be the perfect way to show them your independence. And also to convince yourself that you weren’t a complete pushover.

This was new for you. You never did anything crazy or impulsive, never did anything without fully calculating out all of the possibilities.

Something moved in your line of vision and you focused your eyes on a tan boy who walked from a room near the back to behind the counter. You assumed he was an employee, and one of the only ones at that. You hadn’t seen anyone else in this shop for the 13 minutes you had been waiting. There was no bell or anything on the counter so you just sat in one of the chairs that was actually pretty comfortable, which surprised you, considering the intimidating appearance of the place.

The employee seemed to notice you only after looking up from his phone and then quickly shoving it in his pocket.

“Oh,” he said to acknowledge your presence, barely, but acknowledged.

You stood up from the seat and approached the front of the counter with a friendly grin.

“Hey,” he paused awkwardly and then shook his head slightly as if straightening up his senses, obviously caught off guard. He took only a second to scan me and then cocked one of his eyebrows. “Are you lost?”

Okay, you knew that you didn’t exactly look like a person to be in a shop like this, but his comment still hurt.

You huffed. “No.”

“What are you looking for then? A piercing?”

“No,” you said again, “I’m here for a tattoo.” Your friendly expression started fading and you were already contemplating leaving when the employee gave you one last weird look and came out from behind the counter.

“Do you know what you want?” he asked me as he started to make his way to another door you had yet to examine.

“Um… yeah,” you lied. You had no idea what you wanted, you just kinda walked in here as soon as you saw the shop. Granted, you used the time waiting to think of what you wanted, but 10 minutes or so wasn’t enough time to decide what you wanted on your body for the rest of your life.

He leaned into the doorway after opening it and says, “TY, customer.” You could hear him clearly considering the small area of the shop. “Go ahead.” He turned back to you and gestured to the door, leading you to walk forward and towards the room.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask how old I am? Am I not supposed to pay first?” You ask and he only shrugs. Before you could question his knowledge on these sort of things, he’s ushering you into the room and closing the door right behind you.

You look away from the door’s surface and to what’s in front of you. Which included a very small room, lots of equipment, a comfy looking chair, and a man. An _edgy_ man. You say “edgy” because of the lip piercing, _many_ tattoos, and the absolute butchering of his ears. I mean, seriously, you wouldn’t even be able to count the number of piercings he had in just one ear unless you looked for a while. His face was incredibly structured and intimidating. So intimidating that your smile failed you.

“Was I supposed to pay?” you questioned softly, too timid to approach the man sitting in a stool next to the larger chair.

“You’re charged by the hour,” he said, turning around in the rolling stool and grabbing something off of the counter behind him. “Sorry about my cousin, Donghyuk, he’s just helping out here to earn some money. He doesn’t know much about the business.”

You let out a little, forced laugh as he turns around and you take a couple steps forward. You look around the room, admiring the many sketches held to the wall with a single piece of tape each.

“Is this your shop,” you paused to show your interest in his name and he caught on quickly.

“Taeyong, and yes. It’s mine,” he answered while you walked closer to the wall to observe the sketches up close.

The style was so simplistic and pretty, sketches of flowers, girls, and anything you could possibly think of, but no matter what it was, it was always beautiful.

“And these are yours?” you ask, taking one sketch of a sunflower between your fingers and tracing the textured paper with your thumb. He hummed in agreement and you nodded. “They’re beautiful.” You turned around, letting the material slip past your fingers, and smiled. Genuinely, this time. And the smile he gave back was almost shy. Something you didn’t expect from a man like him.

“Thank you.” He cleared his throat and got back on topic. “So, what did you want to do today?”

“I would like a tattoo, please,” you stated.

“Alright, do you know what of?” He stood up from his stool and turned back to the sink at the counter to wash his hands.

You thought for a second and looked to his sketches again. “You decide.”

“Huh?” He turned off the faucet and dried his hands with a nearby towel. He spared me a glance before reaching for a pair of gloves.

“I like your style.” You nodded your head to his art and tried to push down your nerves until they weren’t bothering you anymore. “You pick.” Maybe you were just pushing the heavy decision onto him because you weren’t anywhere close to being a decisive person, but you convinced yourself that it was because you were just being adventurous.

“You’re sure? Just any one of those sketches?”

“Yes.”

Taeyong wouldn’t admit it anytime soon, but he was extremely flustered that you liked his little sketches so much that you wanted them permanently put on your body.

“Alright, and where would you like it?” he asked and you thought for a moment.

“My wrist, that’s normally where people get tattoos, right?”

He gestured for you to sit down in the big chair and you did, relaxing as soon as your back hit the chair.

“Is this your first time getting a tattoo?” His eyes widened a bit at the possibility that you could want him to choose your first tattoo.

“Yup, let’s do this before I chicken out,” you said all too seriously with a nervous laugh and Taeyong smiled.

“Okay.” He prepared his ink and supplies as well as prepping your arm for the tattoo and soon he held the actual tattoo gun in his hand. “Are you ready?”

You bared your wrist to him in response and he nods, coming in closer with the scary machine, the buzzing noise all you could hear.

It stung really bad at first but after 10 minutes or so, you were getting used to the feeling. You realized that watching Taeyong helped you focus on something other than the pain, so you started to admire his face, which, the more you looked at it, got more handsome.

He was completely focused on your wrist, which you dare not look at, afraid you’d freak out seeing permanent ink penetrate your skin.

You decided to ask some questions, for purposes of further distraction. “So, Taeyong,” you started.

“Mhm?”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Hmm…” He thought for a second, not looking away from where he was working on you. “Since I was in middle school I guess. I started with a crappy tattoo machine my uncle gifted me and shady ink, giving my friends and myself shitty tattoos. Then after high school, I opened up my own shop.” He looked up for a moment to give you a soft smile which caught you off guard. “My tattoos aren’t _as_ shitty anymore.” You furrowed your brows at the “as” part and he noticed, chuckling. “I’m just kidding.”

He went back to work on your wrist and you gulped, suddenly more nervous. You calmed yourself down, though. If his sketches were anything to go by, you would be just fine.

“What made you want a tattoo? Not to offend, but you don’t really look like someone to get a tattoo.” It was his turn to ask a question now.

“Um… Well, I guess I just felt like it?” You didn’t want to admit the truth of your want to piss off your parents so this was the best answer to you.

“Ah. The classic rebellious teenager. I get it.” He laughed slightly and you frowned.

“Hey, I’m not a teenager.” And you weren’t. You were 19 and still living with your parents because of college expense and convenience. “And I’m not rebellious.” You sighed. “I just wanted to remind my parents of my independence.”

“I see.” Even with his face down, you could see the smile on his pretty lips and the stretch of the skin around his piercing.

“When did you get that piercing?” you ask, curious again.

“I got my lip piercing when _I_ was a rebellious teenager. My parents hated it.” You smiled at his answer. “Why? Do you want one too?”

“No, not particularly.” And then you realized that what you said could’ve been rude so you quickly spit out words of reason. “Not that _your_ lip piercing looks bad. I think it looks _great_ on you, truly. It’s just that if I-” He cut you off with a joyous laugh and your words stopped to allow the butterflies in your stomach to flourish.

“Don’t worry about it, I knew you weren’t trying to be rude. But thanks for the compliment.” He laughs one last time.

“Oh yeah, no problem.” You heave a big sigh and try to relax your tensed muscles and mentally tell yourself not to say anything else and embarrass yourself anymore.

The room stayed silent for a while, except for the continuous buzzing, until Taeyong spoke again. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Y/N,” you quickly answered.

“Well, Y/N, I think I’m done.” He pulled back the tattoo gun and wiped your arm with a paper towel before pulling away completely.

You met his eyes before taking a deep breath and finally looking down to your wrist for the first time since he was cleaning it at the start. On the swollen skin of your wrist was probably the most beautiful bunch of flowers you had ever seen. It was a tiny bouquet of skinny and plentiful flowers you couldn’t name, so pretty and dainty.

“Wow… Taeyong, this is,” you paused, at loss for words, “beautiful.” It was the only word you could think of right now. The only word that passed through your mind when you were looking at the tattoo.

Taeyong smiled at you, teeth and all, and yours was even bigger and brighter.

“Thank you, so much.” If you could hug him without being weird, you would. “Why this?” you asked, wondering why he chose to do flowers instead of anything else.

He smiled shyly and looked down as he cleaned up his tools and workspace. “Well, the flowers are really delicate and pretty and I wanted to choose something that represented you.” He slowly got the words out, indirectly complimenting you in the most obvious way possible.

Your face turned hot and suddenly this room was too small for both of you to be in here at once. Taeyong seemed to think the same thing and spoke. “You can go back out front and I’ll be there in a little bit to tell you the cost.”

You speedily nodded and left, out to the main room to wait for Taeyong. His cousin was leaning against the counter, on his phone, and he looked up to definitely see the blush on your face and smirked. It wasn’t new to him to see a flustered person walk out of that room. Taeyong charmed everyone from men to women and children to adults.

You only had to wait for a couple minutes before Taeyong had collected himself and exited the room. You both shyly interacted long enough for you to pay and say your last goodbyes before leaving the shop, soon to return again with an urge to see Taeyong again and have him decide what your next tattoo is.

-

Taeyong heaved a heavy sigh after you had left, watching your back until he couldn’t see you through the window anymore. He grinned to himself as he felt a presence, his cousin looking over his shoulder at the price that you had paid.

Sure, Donghyuk had seen random people be shy because of Taeyong, but never the other way around.

“No way. You totally like them.” Donghyuk scoffed and backed away from his older cousin.

Taeyong snapped his head to his younger relative with wide eyes. “Wh-what?” he cleared his throat and continued, “No I don’t.”

Donghyuk laughed now. “Yeah right, you’re red like I’ve never seen before. Also, I may not know much about how much tattoos cost but that definitely isn’t it.” He gestures to the paper on the counter. “Shaved off a couple dollars for your crush?” He smirked evilly and his voice was becoming more and more annoying to Taeyong by the second.

“Yah.” Taeyong raised his hand as if to slap Donghyuk across the head for discipline and he got the message and relaxed his jaw to maintain an uninterested face.

Donghyuk made his way to the other side of the counter and smiled again. “Don’t go too dreamy on me now, TY.” Then he ran into the room at the back and locked the door, slightly scared for his life.


End file.
